Deever Rockwell’s House on a Bluff Hits the Market Again
Two years ago, my clients Claudine and Giorgio packed up their family in Toronto and, in a bit of a whirlwind experience, purchased what is unarguably one of the most spectacular and stunning MCM homes in the Chicago area. Sad as they are to do so, they’ve just listed the home for sale, as they must move to the east coast for work.
Having lived in the home for a couple of years, I was curious how Giorgio felt about the various spaces, and where they enjoyed spending time.
“It depends on the season, and what’s happening outside,” he says. “You can see everywhere. Everywhere around the house. If a branch falls off a tree, or a tree falls down, you can see everything from everywhere and experience something special from anywhere in the house depending on what’s going on in the landscape.”
The house, designed by architect HP Davis Rockwell, is almost entirely glass on the main level, punctuated intermittently by tapered, aggregate concrete columns.
“Once there was a pack of 12 deer just grazing through the yard,” says Giorgio. “For a brief moment, before our dogs saw them and started making noise, it was just like having this family of deer in our living room with us. It was beautiful. Another time, our daughter saw a red fox on the little grassy area on one side of the house, just rolling around in the grass, relaxing and taking a break.”
Rockwell originally designed the home with the master suite on the main level, but Giorgio and Claudine decided to use that space as more of a lounge.
“Everything upstairs is public space and everything downstairs is private. It’s great, because all of the open parts are where you relax and entertain, so it makes sense for the way the house was designed.”
During their time in the house, Giorgio and Claudine made a number of changes, including refinishing some of the wood surfaces, to help make the house feel more current without betraying the home’s architectural history and pedigree.
“The refinishing of the wood upstairs was a fun project to do,” says Giorgio. “People would come to the house who aren’t into design or architecture and they think it’s a new house. It’s a very clean look.”
The home is on the market at $749,000. Call me at 312.907.4085 to arrange for a private showing, or send an e-mail to me at lou@modernil.com
